


Young At Heart

by agent_reynolds



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: De-aging, F/F, Kid Laura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 10:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2729414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agent_reynolds/pseuds/agent_reynolds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Alchemy Club continues to cause problems.  This one could be described as childish, especially compared to some of the other ones, but Danny and Carmilla are stuck trying to make it right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This Should Be Interesting

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea for this after seeing this comic (http://jazzymanlyweird.tumblr.com/post/104145995738/sometimes-i-have-the-weirdest-dreams-about). My take on the idea.

“Oh, no!  Not a chance in Hades, Dead Girl!”

 

“What are you going to do to stop me Red?”

 

“You don’t want to know the things I could do to you!”

 

“That sounds like you’re offering something up there.”

 

“That is not what I meant, and you know it!  Now back off!”

 

“Will you two shut up?”

 

LaFontaine’s voice rang out, cutting through the argument between Carmilla and Danny.  The two were nose-to-nose and both faces were red from the screaming match.  There was silence for only a moment before the sounds of crying broke through.  Three heads turned to the sound to see a small girl, her light brown hair covering her face as she had curled into herself on the bed. “Oh no, no, no.”  Danny muttered as she rushed to the child’s side.

 

Carmilla was right there next to her, with Laf just behind them.  Danny kneeled in front of the bed, “Hey there, sweetie.  It’s okay.  Don’t cry.  We won’t yell anymore.  It’s okay.”

 

Her voice was soft and the child peeked out from behind her hands.  Danny smiled at her.  “Hi.”

 

The girl waved weakly at her and started to sit up.  She pushed her hair out of her face, only to have most of it fall back where it was.  Carmilla reached out and pushed the fallen strands behind the girl’s ear.  The child looked up and smiled at her, before quickly averting her eyes, “Thank you.”

 

The words were quiet, and somewhat slurred in the way any small child will speak.  The sound brought smiles to the other three in the room.  Carmilla patted the child’s back, “No problem, Cupcake.”

 

“I’m not a cupcake!”  The girl’s hands hit Carmilla’s mattress underneath her with some force.  She squinted up at Carmilla.  “I’m Laura!”

 

Danny and LaFontaine laughed at the exchange, but tried to hide it behind their hands.  Carmilla glared at them before returning her attention to the now even tinier Laura on the bed.  “Alright Laura.  Let me ask you something: how old are you?”

 

Laura looked like she was deep in thought for a moment before she raised her hand and put up all of her fingers except her thumb.  “I four.”

 

Carmilla nodded and looked over to the other two in the dorm room.  Danny was still looking at Laura with a small smile.  LaFontaine, on the other hand, was just shaking their head muttering “Where’s Perry when you need her?”

 

Carmilla didn’t quite enjoy the company of the floor don as much as Laf, but they had a good point.  The motherly girl would be very helpful here.  “Where is she anyway?”

 

LaFontaine looked to Carmilla and shrugged, “She had some homework to finish up and then she was going to a coffee shop with one of the residents, they needed to talk to her about something.”

 

Carmilla nodded and looked at the floor.  It was getting late, so Perry would probably end up going straight back to her room and crashing once she got back.  No help from her tonight.  Danny was looking between everyone in the room and rubbed her eyes, “Alright.  We need to figure out a plan here.”

 

Carmilla nodded and Laf just looked at Laura.  “Well, that would be nice, Danny, but, and I don’t know about you two, I know nothing about taking care of a little kid.”

 

“Hey!  I’m not little!  I’m a big girl!”

 

Laura’s outburst, complete with her hands on her hips and a glare at LaFontaine, earned a smile from Carmilla and an extended “aw” from Danny.  Laf looked almost impressed, while trying not to smile.  Laura’s steely look at Laf was broken by a yawn.  Danny finally spoke to the de-aged girl, “Looks like someone is sleepy.”

 

Laura shook her head but yawned again.  She pouted like she was angry at her body for betraying her like that.  Carmilla reached out and grabbed Laura and put the toddler on her hip.  Laura immediately laid her head on the vampire’s shoulder and closed her eyes.  “Let’s put you in your own bed.”

 

Carmilla took the short trip and bent down to place Laura on the bed, only to find her arms tightly wrapped around Carmilla’s neck, and not letting go.  Carmilla tried pulling at the girl lightly, but she wouldn’t budge.  Carmilla stood back up and looked at the other two with raised eyebrows.  LaFontaine cleared their throat and pointed to the door, “Um, looks like she likes you.  I think I’ll just get out of here and we can regroup tomorrow.”

 

They headed to the door and left Carmilla and Danny staring at each other in the middle of the room.  “So, are you going to leave too?  Let me deal with the monkey?”

 

Laura tightened her grip even more and mumbled her own name into Carmilla’s neck.  Carmilla refused to let the word adorable flash through her mind.  Danny broke her out of her own mind, “As much fun as I’m sure leaving you to deal with a toddler would be, I told you I could take care of her earlier; before we scared her.  Plus, I don’t really trust you with her.”

 

Carmilla scoffed, her breath rushing across the hair on the back of Laura’s head and causing her to giggle.  “What do you think I’m going to do to her?  She’s four.”

 

“I think you don’t know how to take care of a four year old.”

 

“Like you are any better.”

 

“Maybe, but if we, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, if we work together we can keep the little one fairly safe until Perry gets back, or we can put her back to normal.”

 

Carmilla sneered slightly, only to have it fall when she felt Laura shift against her.  Instead, she sighed.  “Fine, Jolly Green.  But just because I don’t want to deal with a crying child by myself.”

 

Laura raised her head and looked between the two, now significantly, older girls.  “Where’s mommy?”

 

Both girls froze and stopped breathing.  Two pairs of wide eyes met in stunned silence.  Danny tried to speak, but nothing came out.  Carmilla had similar results.  It was almost a full minute before Danny spoke softly, “Um, she just went out for a while.  So, you’re going to stay with Carmilla and me for a little.  Okay?”

 

Laura nodded and then looked at the redhead, “You’re pretty.”

 

Danny’s face nearly split in half with the size of her smile.  “Thank you, Laura.  I think you’re pretty too.”

 

Danny reached out and booped Laura on the nose, earning a giggle from the child and a gagging noise from Carmilla.  Laura looked up at the dark-haired girl, “Ca-Ca-Car…”

 

She bunched up her face in anger.  Some things never change, as she simply looked like a much smaller version of her angry normal self.  Carmilla actually smiled at her, “Carmilla.”  The vampire spoke her own name slowly.

 

“Carmilla.”  Laura beamed up at the girl holding her when she said it correctly.

 

“Good job, Cupcake.”

 

Laura sat up straight, forcing Carmilla to quickly readjust her hold on the girl.  She then grabbed Carmilla by the cheeks and looked into her eyes.  Speaking slowly and precisely she told the girl, “Laura.”

 

Carmilla nodded at her, “Laura.”

 

“Good job.”  Laura patted the older girl’s cheek.

 

Danny laughed from behind Laura.  With the hand on Laura’s back, Carmilla flipped a finger up at Danny while hiding it from Laura’s gaze.  Danny stuck her tongue out at Carmilla and went over to Laura’s bed.  “Hey there, Laura.  Why don’t you climb in and go to sleep.  It’s getting late, and I know I’m tired.”

 

Laura tried to fight off a yawn at the very mention of the word tired, but failed.  She resorted to shaking her head and burying her face in Carmilla’s neck.  Carmilla sighed, “Well, now we know the stubbornness isn’t a new development.”

 

Danny nodded and pulled the covers down on Laura’s bed.  Carmilla suddenly had an idea and sat down on Laura’s bed next to Danny, “Laura.  How about this: if you lay down and go to sleep like a good girl, you can have a cookie when you get up.”

 

Laura’s head shot up, almost knocking into Carmilla’s jaw.  “Cookie?”

 

Carmilla nodded at her, “Yeah.  All you have to do is lay down and go to bed.”

 

Laura jumped out of Carmilla’s arms onto the bed when she heard that.  Both Danny and Carmilla nearly fell over trying to make sure she didn’t hit the floor.  The toddler threw her head against the yellow pillow and tried to pull the blankets up.  Danny reached up to help when she heard Laura yell at her to stop.  The redhead froze, “What’s wrong?”

 

“I need jammies.”

 

Danny cocked an eyebrow at Carmilla, who just shrugged.  The girls looked around the room for any ideas.  Danny jumped up from the bed and grabbed one of Laura’s t-shirts.  Looking at Carmilla she held it up, “Nightshirt?”

 

Carmilla did a half-nod and waved towards Laura.  Danny brought the shirt over and put it next to Laura.  Laura tried to pull her shirt off and got it stuck on her head.  She squirmed and grunted as she tried to force it over.  Carmilla reached over to help, grumbling about how this is not how she imagined this happening.  Danny was caught between wanting to laugh and growl at the vampire.  After some effort, Carmilla was able to throw the now oversized shirt over Laura’s head and Laura had removed her pants on her own and thrown them to the floor.  Danny stood up and turned out the lights before turning and joining Carmilla on the vampire’s bed.  Carmilla whispered to her once she sat down, “I don’t know what the Alchemy Club did, I’m just amazed it shrunk her clothes with her.”

 

Danny snorted out a laugh, then groaned.  “Oh man, we have to get real clothes for her.”

 

Carmilla looked up at Danny questioningly.  Danny threw her arms up, “We don’t know how long this is going to last and she can’t run around in big Laura’s shirts as dresses all the time.”

 

Carmilla chuckled, “I didn’t think I’d ever hear Laura described as big.”

 

The girls laughed quietly at that.  They stayed silent for a moment, long enough to hear Laura snoring quietly on her bed.  Both breathed a sigh of relief at that.  Danny ran her hand through her hair, “Alright.  Now what’s next?”

 

Carmilla rolled back onto her bed and let out a small yawn, “I say we go to sleep.”

 

“One problem with that, Bloodsucker.  There are two of us, and one bed.  And I am not sleeping on the floor.”

 

Carmilla growled, “I got it last time we had three people in the room, so I’m not doing it.  So either you take it, or we bunk together.”

 

Danny squinted at Carmilla, “Did you just suggest we share a bed?”

 

“I suggest you sleep on the floor, but if that’s not your thing then there aren’t many options.”

 

Danny unlaced her shoes and kicked them off, then clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath, “Scoot over.”

 

Carmilla rolled over towards the wall, giving Danny room to lie down next to her.  Danny scooted down to a horizontal position, leaving as much room as she could between her and Carmilla.  “Those fangs get anywhere near me and you’re dead.”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.  I don’t particularly want to vomit tonight.”

 

Danny bit back a reply and just closed her eyes, hoping she could fall asleep soon; next to her, Carmilla did the same.  Both girls using the soft snores from across the room to lull them into what was sure to be a restless sleep.


	2. Well, This Is New

Carmilla was awakened early the next morning by a reoccurring pressure on her cheek. She slowly let her eyes open and saw the smiling face of four-year old Laura Hollis.  After blinking away the sleep a thought came to her mind. How was it that Laura could reach her? Somehow, Danny and Carmilla had switched places during the night.  Speaking of the Amazon, there was now a long, pale arm draped across Carmilla’s waist. Carmilla was trying to make sense of the situation when another poke landed on her face.  “Carm.  Wake up.”

 

Carmilla muttered to herself before speaking up, “I’m awake, Cupcake.”

 

Laura jumped up and down, “Yay.  Now cookie.”

 

“Cookie?”

 

“You promised.”

 

Carmilla groaned. She thought little Laura would forget about that by the time she woke up.  “Fine.  Let me get up and I’ll get you your cookie.”

 

Laura cheered and ran over to her bed and climbed up, waiting with her legs kicking against the side of the mattress.  Carmilla tried to sit up, only to have Danny’s arm tighten around her.  “Come on, Bunyan.  Let me go.”

 

Carmilla tried to move again, but still didn’t budge the other girl’s arm.  She considered breaking it and just moving on, but heard Laura humming on the other side of the room and decided against it. Sighing, she reached back and shook Danny’s shoulder.  “Wake up, you overgrown mutt.”  That didn’t seem to have any effect, so she shook harder and raised her voice. “Danny!  Get up!”

 

Danny’s eyes fluttered open and she yawned.  Her eyes finally opened fully and she recognized that Carmilla was mere inches from her face. “Whoa, Morticia. Back off a little.”

 

“I would, but you seem to have found it quite enjoyable.  You just wouldn’t let me move.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

As soon as the words left her mouth Danny realized where her arm was.  She yanked the limb back and ran her hand through her hair. “Sorry.”

 

“I never took you for a cuddler.”

 

“Shut up, Karnstein.”

 

Carmilla just shrugged and walked over to Laura’s desk.  She grabbed a cookie from the tray and handed it to the child on the bed. Laura excitedly grabbed it and stuffed half of it in her mouth.  Carmilla chuckled and ruffled the girl’s hair, “I guess some things never do change. Chew your food, you don’t want to choke.”

 

Laura nodded and bit off the piece in her mouth and broke it apart.  The only noise in the room for a minute was the sound of crunching from Laura. When she finished the cookie, she smiled across the room at Danny and up at Carmilla.  Danny reached over and patted Laura on the knee. “How’d you sleep, kid?”

 

Laura smiled at her, “Good.”

 

Danny was about to reply when the three of them heard voices from the hall.  “Now, Perr, I need to talk to you before you go in there.”

 

“LaFontaine, you said something happened to Laura.  Dealing with the Alchemy Club!  I’m going to check on her!”

 

“Perry, just let me explain!”

 

At that, the door burst open and Perry rushed in, “Where’s Laura?”

 

Hearing her name come frantically from Perry, Laura squeaked and jumped off the bed and ran into Danny’s lap.  She buried herself as best she could in Danny’s shirt, trying to hide.  Perry froze, “Danny?  Why do you have a child?  Are you? Did you?  I mean it’s fine if you do, I won’t judge you. I just didn’t expect—and you never said anything.”

 

“No, no!  I don’t—I never—she’s not mine!”

 

Danny was red in the face, as was Perry.  Carmilla was laughing at the foot of Laura’s bed and LaFontaine was trying to hold back the laughter. Perry’s eyes were locked on the small person on Danny’s lap.  “Then who is that?”

 

Danny grabbed Laura and sat her up straight on her lap.  Laura looked up through her hair at Perry, “Hi.”

 

Perry stepped forward and slowly waved with her finger, “Hi.  I’m Lola, what’s your name?”

 

“Laura.”

 

Perry blinked and audibly swallowed.  “Lafontaine. Where did this child come from?”

 

“Well, I imagine when Mister and Mrs. Hollis were younger, they had what is known as—ow! Perry! What the Hell?”

 

“This is not funny LaFontaine. Where did you find this child?”

 

“In this room! Laura and I were walking along and a couple guys from the Alchemy Club were walking in the other direction and one was talking and waving his hands and he spilled whatever was in his hand and it got on Laura.  When we got back here, Danny was standing outside and Carmilla was on her bed.  Laura went into the bathroom and like two minutes later the door handle started jiggling so Carmilla opened it and Laura was standing there like this.  Four years old and smiling.”

 

Perry looked like her head was about to explode.  She took a deep breath, “Well, if we are going to take care of her, we need to get her real food, not whatever Laura keeps in here.  Also, clothes.  We need clothes. Come on LaFontaine.”

 

With that, Perry marched back out of the room followed by a shrugging Laf.  Carmilla and Danny looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Danny looked down at Laura, who was now playing with Danny’s hair.  “So, where does that leave us with this little cutie?”

 

Carmilla sat down on Laura’s bed and rested her head on the wall, “Well, we need to find something to keep her occupied.  And somehow, I don’t think college textbooks and her camera are going to do it.”

 

Danny nodded, “We don’t have much room either.”

 

Carmilla sighed and picked up a notebook from her shelf of books.  Sitting back down on Laura’s bed, she grabbed one of the other girl’s pencils and began making marks on the paper.  Laura continued to twist Danny’s hair around. Danny was running her hand up and down Laura’s back as she watched the toddler play.  Laura took a lock of Danny’s hair and tried to twist it, only to pull it off to the side.  “Sonuva—“

 

Danny quickly caught herself before she said anything in front of Laura.  Biting her lip, she looked up and then back down to the girl in her lap.  Laura had her hands over her mouth.  “I sorry. I didn’t mean. I sorry.  I hurted you.”

 

Laura sounded like she was about to cry.  Danny shook her head and tried to talk sweetly to the little girl.  “It’s okay.  I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Danny smiled down at her. Laura smiled and moved to stand on Danny’s thighs.  When she was upright, she leaned in and kissed Danny on the cheek.  “All better now?”

 

Danny laughed and placed a kiss on Laura’s cheek, “All better.”  The redhead stood up and put Laura on her hip, “Let’s go see what Carmilla’s doing.”

 

Crossing the room in a single stride, Danny plopped down next to Carmilla.  The pencil had been scratching her hairline and cut through her hair as the bed bounced.  She snarled at Danny and brushed her hair back where she wanted it.  Danny peeked at the paper Carmilla had been using and gasped.

 

On the page was a quick sketch.  The picture was fairly bare, Carmilla hadn’t had time to add details, but it was obvious that the image was of Laura sitting on Danny’s lap.  The older girl was smiling down at Laura, as the little one held strands of hair in her hands.  Danny blinked, “Wow Carm, this is really good.”

 

“You don’t live for 300 years without picking up a few skills.”  Carmilla deadpanned as she slowly started cleaning up the picture.

 

Laura looked over and whispered “Wow.”  She then leaned over and pressed a kiss to Carmilla’s cheek.  “You are really good.”

 

Carmilla’s jaw dropped a little and then her mouth curled into a small smile, “Thanks, Creampuff.”

 

“I want to draw too.”

 

Laura scrambled off Danny’s lap and over to the desk.  Climbing on top of the chair, she found a box of colored pencils.  Danny found one of Laura’s notebooks and opened it to the back page.  “Here you go.”

 

She dropped the notebook onto the floor and grabbed Laura.  Danny swung the little girl around a couple times then brought her to the ground next to the paper.  Laura was giggling and couldn’t stand, so she fell over when Danny put her down.

 

The room was near silent for a while, the only sounds being the scraping of pencils and Danny’s shoes as she cleaned up around the room.  “How do you live like this?  How do you find anything?”

 

Carmilla looked up from the picture she was drawing, “Everything is laid out for me to see, how could I not find it?  Why are you moving my stuff anyway?”

 

Danny threw another black shirt into the pile by the wardrobe, “I figured it wasn’t exactly safe to have a child hanging around in a room where Gods know what was just left laying around.”

 

Carmilla just nodded and turned back to her page.   Suddenly there was a squeal and the sound of rustling paper.  Bare feet padded across the room and jumped up next to Carmilla. “Look Carm!  Look what I drawed!”

 

“Drew, Creampuff. Let me see.”

 

On the page was a stick figure depiction of three people, obviously supposed to be the three of them. Stick figure Danny was twice as tall as stick figure Carmilla, even though their heads were even on the paper. Carmilla’s feet only went down to Danny’s waist, and under her feet was an even smaller person, presumably little Laura.

 

Carmilla smiled and nodded at the girl, “Good work, Cupcake.”

 

The vampire put down the notebook she was working in and grabbed the one Laura was holding. Tearing the back page out, she grabbed some tape from the desk.  She moved back to the bed and hung the picture on the wall over it. Laura bounced on the bed, clapping and smiling at the picture.  When Carmilla sat back down, Laura jumped up into her lap and curled into her chest.

 

Danny was still moving around the room, but took a moment to look at the picture and offer up a “Good job, shorty.”  Accompanied with a quick ruffling of the child’s hair.  Laura giggled at that and tried to shake her hair back into place, but only managed to fling it all into Carmilla’s face.  Carmilla sputtered, trying to get the hair out of her mouth and brushed it back into place herself.

 

Danny laughed at the pair on the bed as her phone went off.  She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen.  “Ah shi—shoot.”

 

“What’s the matter, Xena?”

 

“I’m late for a Summer Society meeting.  Do you think you can handle her until I get back?”

 

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Danny nodded, then rushed over and threw her shoes back on.  She leaned across to Laura, “Hey kid, I’ll be back in a little okay? You be good for Carmilla while I’m gone.”

 

“Okay. Bye bye, Danny.”

 

“Bye.” Danny replied then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.  Without another thought she moved up and did the same to Carmilla.

 

It wasn’t until she stood up completely that she realized what she did.  Her jaw dropped and her eyes focused on Carmilla.  The vampire’s eyes were wide and she blinked a few times. Danny stuttered for a moment, “I—I’m sorry.  I didn’t think about it.”

 

Carmilla straightened her face back to its usual dismissive nature, “Whatever.  Just go deal with your pack and then get back and help.”

 

With just a nod, Danny was out of the room at a speed even Carmilla marveled at.


	3. Of Naps and Pants

The room was silent as the grave.  Laura had just laid down for a nap, and Carmilla was sitting on her bed, looking at the child. Her mind was running at a rate that even her vampire super speed couldn’t match.  Not only was there an even more pint-sized version of her roommate that she had to take care of, her and Danny were getting along.  The idea itself almost made her laugh out loud, and if it wasn’t for the effort it took to get Laura to go down for her nap she probably would have.  But they weren’t getting along, were they?  They were getting comfortable with each other.  Carmilla’s hands covered her face as she took a deep breath.  Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sounds in the hallway marking the return of Perry and LaFontaine.

 

Carmilla jumped off the bed and raced to the door before the ginger pair could get there. Opening the door with a glare that could strike terror into the hearts of the bravest men in history, and had done so on some occasions, she silenced the couple.  Both redheads froze in place with grocery bags hanging from their arms.  LaFontaine spoke up first, “We aren’t going to find Danny’s shredded corpse in there if we look, are we?”

 

“She’s at a meeting for her beloved sorority, but if you wake Laura up from her nap it will be your corpses someone will be finding.”

 

Perry’s face lost all color but LaFontaine just tried to hide their grin.  Perry straightened up after a moment and cleared her throat, trying to take control of the situation.  “Okay. Well, we will be quiet when we go in to drop this stuff in there.”

 

Perry nodded, apparently affirming her own statement, before gently trying to push past Carmilla while quietly trying to excuse her way through.  Carmilla held the door open with an eye roll as the two gingers stepped into the room and set the bags down in front of the wardrobe. Perry immediately started putting food in the fridge and whispered instructions at Laf to start pulling clothes out of the bags and folding them.

 

While the pair of gingers went through the process of putting all their new purchases away, Carmilla went over to grab a book and then sat down next to Laura on the bed. The little girl was snoring softly as she curled around her pillow.  Carmilla couldn’t help but smile a little as she flipped open her book with one hand and lightly ran her hand through Laura’s hair.  She was so entranced between the two activities that she didn’t notice Laf and Perry quietly slipping out of the room.  The vampire didn’t move, other than to flip pages and continue brushing through Laura’s hair, until Danny walked back into the room with a groan. “I swear, that was the most useless meeting of all time.”

 

Carmilla stiffened and shot Danny a glare, “Quiet Mt. Vesuvius, she’s taking a nap.”

 

Danny smiled sheepishly mouthed sorry to the other girl.  Carmilla rolled her eyes and shut her book as the redhead walked over to the fridge, “I just need something to help me ignore all…what the Hell is this?”

 

“The other two brought gifts.”

 

Danny just shook her head, causing her hair to fall into her face, and dug around until she found a grape soda.  She sat down on Carmilla’s bed and popped open the can.  Carmilla’s eyebrow rose at the sound, “You know, when you said you needed to get your mind off stuff, I assumed you were going to use something a little stronger.”

 

“Bite me.” Danny paused briefly, “Forget I said that, that was stupid.  But I never drink this crap, and we do have a small child to look after, I don’t think me getting drunk would be a great idea.”

 

“You make us sound so domestic, Red.”

 

Danny’s cheeks turned a few shades darker than normal, “Well, when you think about it, we kind of are.” That broke Carmilla’s unaffected shell, as her eyebrows shot up and her mouth hung open slightly for just a moment. “We’re basically raising a child together, for a short time at least, we already bickered like an old married couple, and we did share a bed.”

 

“Not to mention the little goodbye kiss you gave me before your meeting.”

 

The difference between Danny’s cheeks and hair was nearly nonexistent at this point.  “I was hoping we were just going to forget about that.”

 

“Oh Amazon, that’s not something I am going to soon forget.”

 

Carmilla was laughing at Danny’s downtrodden expression as she drank from her can of soda, but was interrupted by a tug at the bottom of her shirt.  Laura had woken up from her nap and was now doing her best to get Carmilla’s attention in her groggy state.  “Well hey there.  Look who’s awake.”

 

Laura tried to pull herself up using Carmilla’s shirt, but only managed to start to stretch it out. Instead, Carmilla simply reached down and pulled the toddler onto her lap.  Laura curled into Carmilla’s chest, with the bottom of the vampire’s shirt still in her hand.  Danny’s face lit right back up at the sight of the child, “Hey sweetie.  Did you have a good nap?”

 

Laura just yawned and tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes.  She finally released Carmilla’s shirt and sat up straight.  Her eyes danced around the room and lit up when she caught sight of something.  “Thirsty.” Laura croaked out, her voice cutting through the sleep in her throat.

 

The child jumped down from Carmilla’s lap and rushed over to Danny with her arms outstretched. Danny lifted the soda can up over her head, “Sorry, kid.  You’re not getting any of this.”

 

Laura frowned and pouted, dropping her arms to her sides.  The breaking of Danny’s resolve was visible, as her eyes softened and her arm subconsciously fell a couple inches.  Carmilla was holding back a chuckle, “Wow.  Even as a little kid she has your number.”

 

Danny looked up from Laura’s face to the vampire, “You’re not seeing this face.  She’s adorable.”

 

The redhead had apparently gotten tired of holding her arm up and dropped it against her thigh. With the older girl’s attention on Carmilla, Laura had an opportunity to reach up and grab the can. She took that opportunity and took a big gulp from the drink as she pulled it up to her lips.  Carmilla laughed out loud as Danny gasped at the sight. Laura brought the can down and wiped the back of her hand across her lips as she sighed overdramatically. Carmilla fell backwards on her bed, shaking with laughter, while Danny grabbed the can back from Laura. Danny pointed across at Carmilla, “If she doesn’t lay down tonight, you are dealing with her.” She redirected her attention back to Laura with a hard voice, “And you.  I told you that you couldn’t have any, and you didn’t listen; then you took it from my hand.  That’s two no-noes.”

 

Laura’s eyes widened as Danny said this.  Her eyes followed Danny’s finger while it wagged in her face.  The little girl ducked her head and stumbled backwards, her eyes tearing up. Laura turned and climbed into Carmilla’s lap again.  “Good going, Clifford. You scared her.”

 

Danny looked guilty for a split second before she frowned, “Well, we can’t just let her get away with it. She disobeyed me, and then stole from me.”

 

“It was a sip from your drink, not your wallet.  Calm down.”

 

Danny stood up and raised her voice, “You know what?  I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but I will if I have to.  I bet if it were up to you, she’d just have free run of the whole campus!  We have to take care of her, and that means making boundaries.”

 

Carmilla adjusted Laura on her lap as she stared Danny down, slightly killing the badass vibe she was trying to give off, “Isn’t giving her boundaries and trying to baby her what got you kicked out of here last time?”

 

Danny’s shoulders straightened and her jaw clenched, “Yes, and I might have pushed too hard then. But that was when she was nineteen, not four!”

 

The two stared at each other, electricity nearly sparking between them.  Laura remained curled into Carmilla’s chest, not looking at either older girl.  At that moment, as if she could sense the distress from down the hall, Perry burst through the door; followed by LaFontaine, of course.  “Hello. How are things going here?” The slightly panicked looking smile across her lips changed to a frown when she looked at Laura, “Laura dear, why are you not dressed?  You should get changed and you need to put on some pants.”

 

Laura jumped off Carmilla’s lap and ran past Perry as fast as her little legs could carry her, “No pants!”

 

All the anger left the room immediately and everyone in the room chuckled, until they realized the door was still open and Laura was headed straight for it.  Before anyone could react, she was racing down the hall in nothing but her shirt-turned-nightgown.  She was cheering as she rushed down the hall, chased by Perry and Danny while Carmilla and Laf stood in the doorway laughing.  Danny caught her by the time Laura reached the end of the hallway and picked her up and threw the little girl over her shoulder.  Laura was still chanting “no pants” as Danny brought her back into the room, trying to hide a smile.  Danny dropped Laura onto her bed and squatted down in front of her, “Hey now. You have to stay with one of us at all times, okay?  You can’t just run off like that.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because we don’t want you getting lost.  This place is big and has a lot of people.”

 

“Okay.” Laura nodded seriously at her, then brightened up, “Can we go play outside?”

 

Danny looked up at the other three standing in the room.  Carmilla shrugged and sat down, Laf was still just grinning, and Perry, per usual, looked concerned. Danny stood up and turned to LaFontaine and Perry, “If we’re taking her outside it’s probably going to take all four of us to keep track of her.”

 

Laf just pointed over to Carmilla on the bed, “Why can’t Dracula just use her super speed if she runs off?”

 

“For one, I’m not exactly looking to be the center of attention on campus today.  Also, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve had my eye on a kid for a while, so I haven’t exactly had time for a snack.” Carmilla didn’t even bother to look to the rest of them as she said this, looking at her nails instead.

 

Laf nodded, and looked to Perry.  Perry flexed her fingers and took a deep breath, “It would probably be a good idea to let her get some exercise.”

 

Danny turned back to Laura, “Alright.  We can go outside.” Laura cheered, interrupting her, “But, you have to make sure to either be with one of us, or at least so we can see you; and you have to get dressed first. Which means pants.”

 

Laura only looked disappointed for a second before jumping off the bed and running towards the wardrobe. Perry beat her there, however, and pulled out a red shirt with a cartoon bat on it and a tiny pair of jeans. Carmilla took one look at the shirt, once Perry had pulled it over Laura’s head, and rolled her eyes, “Very funny, Brain.”

 

Laf looked over at her, “What makes you think it was me?”

 

Carmilla nodded towards Perry, “Pinky over there would’ve just bought blank shirts and sweaters.”

 

LaFontaine shrugged and nodded as they turned and stepped out the door, followed by a very excited Laura and very worried Perry.  Carmilla and Danny were left standing in the room by themselves.  Danny rubbed at her temples, “This is going to be one Hell of a trip, isn’t it?”

 

“You’re telling me, Dan.”


	4. Trees Are A Dangerous Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, look what I found in the mess that is the documents folder on my laptop. It seems to have gotten lost sometime over that last few months, so sorry for the wait. Hope this makes up for it!

Before the crew even got down the stairs, it looked as if Danny and Perry were both going to have an aneurysm.  Laura thought it would be a fun game to try and see how many steps she could clear in one leap, so she raced down the first flight to the next landing and got a running start. Just as her feet left the landing, Carmilla reached out and grabbed her.  “No. Not a chance.  That is a very bad idea.”

 

Laura was legitimately pouting as Carmilla carried her down that flight.  “But Carm, I wanted to see how far I could jump!”

 

“Did you also want to see how many bones you could break?”

 

“Carmilla!” Danny shouted in shock.

 

“What? It’s what would have happened.”

 

“You don’t have to be so blunt about it.  Look, you scared her.”

 

Sure enough, Laura’s lip was quivering and she was squirming against Carmilla’s hold on her. Danny came over and grabbed the child. She put Laura on her hip and looked right into her eyes, “You can’t do stuff like that.  Carmilla’s a little mean, but she’s right. We just don’t want you getting hurt. Okay?”

 

Laura nodded, “Can I get down now?”

 

“Are you going to walk down the stairs like a big girl?”

 

Laura’s head bounced up and down faster than was probably healthy.  Danny slowly bent over and placed Laura back on the floor. The young girl started down the stairs, more slowly now, with the rest of the group behind her. Perry had a strained smile on her face, while the other three weren’t even bothering to hide their concern.

 

Once they reached the ground floor, Laura reached up and attempted to pull the door open, only to have to wait for one of the others to do it for her.  As soon as the door was open wide enough, Laura bolted out of it, leaving the other three to rush out after her.  Laura took off towards the open grass.  Carmilla shook her head, “At least she’s not trying to rush the other buildings.  No telling what she could get into in the library, or the Zeta house.”

 

Everyone let out a slight shudder at that.  Carmilla walked over and sat down against a tree while the others walked over to Laura, who was standing in the middle of the, oddly empty, lawn bouncing on her toes. As soon as the trio got close, Laura ran up to LaFontaine and slapped their leg.  “You’re it!”

 

The young girl took off in the other direction, followed closely by Laf.  Eventually, they caught up with her, lightly pushing on her shoulder.  Laura turned quickly and chased Laf and Danny around the grass with Carmilla and Perry watching. Perry seemed to be barely containing the anxiety she was accruing from seeing the little girl rushing around like she was.  After Danny let Laura catch up to her, she gave chase back at Laura before grabbing and tickling her sides.  Laura squirmed around in Danny’s arms until the redhead let her back down. As soon as she was back on the ground, Laura skipped over to Carmilla, who was sitting underneath the tree she had chosen earlier and scrolling on her phone.  The young girl jumped to a stop in front of the vampire before reaching out and tapping her on the knee.  Carmilla glanced up through her hair at Laura, “What’s up kid?”

 

“You’re it!” Laura smiled back at her and then turned to run away.

 

Carmilla shook her head at the child and returned her attention to the phone in her hand. It took Laura a moment to realize that Carmilla wasn’t chasing her, and as soon as she did a pout crossed her face. She ran back over to the tree, “Carm! You’re it, you have to chase us!”

 

“I don’t play tag.”

 

Laura just crossed her arms and pouted at the other girl until she looked back up. Carmilla sighed at her, “Sorry cupcake, not happening.”

 

Laura leaned against Carmilla’s knees and pushed her face farther into Carmilla’s personal space, “Please, Carmilla?  Please?”

 

She kept repeating and dragging out the word until Carmilla finally put her phone on the ground and grabbed her.  Carmilla pulled Laura onto her lap and whispered to her, “Now you’re it, but I’ll be nice and help you get Big Red over there.”

 

Laura smiled up at her and grinned, nodding quickly.  Carmilla put a finger over her own lips to tell the little girl to be quiet. Laura’s lips were pressed together tightly as she solemnly mirrored Carmilla’s action.  Black hair blocked the light from Laura’s head as Carmilla pulled the two of them together.  “Close your eyes really tight.”

 

Laura obeyed and then Carmilla took off and up into the tree.  She could hear the confused trio below them questioning what had happened, with Danny releasing a whispered expletive.  The Ginger Squad started looking around and calling for Laura. Carmilla stepped out onto the branch above Danny’s head and leaned down.  She grabbed Laura’s hands and quietly told her to open her eyes. When the two locked eyes, Carmilla asked, “Laura, do you trust me?”  Laura smiled at her and shook her head yes.  Carmilla smiled back at her, “Okay, so you’re going to hold onto my hands really tight and I’m going to hold you down next to Danny’s head.”

 

Laura’s grin widened and she tightened her grip on Carmilla.  Carmilla took a deep breath and held the girl’s wrists tight, making sure to not use enough of her vampire strength to do any harm.  She counted down from three and hung Laura off the branch.

 

Laura stretched down as far as she could, right behind Danny.  She swung her legs and got them over Danny’s shoulders, hooking them underneath the redhead’s arms.  Danny instinctually grabbed for Laura’s legs and shouted as Laura laughed at her. “Got you!”

 

Danny tilted her head back as far as she could to see Laura smiling down at her.  “Oh my Gods!  Laura you scared me!”

 

Laura was laughing as Danny reached up to pull the girl off her shoulders; Carmilla let go as soon as Danny had full control over the squirming child.  Once Laura was free from her grasp, Carmilla poofed her way back to the ground behind the tree that everyone was standing near. Danny had Laura on her hip by then. “Laura, this isn’t funny. We didn’t know where you were.”

 

“I was with Carm.”

 

“I don’t care. That was dangerous.” Danny huffed and then spoke under her breath, “That stupid bloodsucker should know better than that.”

 

“Hey! That’s a mean word!”

 

Laura was now glaring at Danny, the older girl’s language apparently not going over well. Danny blinked and shook her head, “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that. Why don’t you go hang out with Perry for a minute?”

 

Danny handed Laura off to the floor don before turning around and running her hands through her hair. LaFontaine walked up to her, “Hey, what’s up?  You’re freaking out over here.”

 

“Carmilla just dropped Laura from a tree.  Care to let me know why I shouldn’t be freaking out?”

 

“She got her to you, didn’t she?  I’m sure she knew it would be fine.”

 

“Fine?” Danny’s teeth were gritted as she spoke, “She knew it would be fine?  That demon just wanted a laugh and thought that would be good for one.”

 

“Danny, you’re talking like Carmilla doesn’t care about Laura at all.”

 

“I don’t care if she cares about Laura.  She shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near her.  She’s acting as if this is just some little game.”

 

“Dude just take a breath—“

 

“No. You know what? I don’t think she cares about her. Who would act that carelessly with a kid like that?”

 

“Danny just calm down. It’s not like Laura could have been hurt; even if Carmilla drops her wrong, she’s like the Flash, Laura would’ve never had a chance to hit the ground.”

 

“That’s not the point! You can’t just do that! Where is she anyway? I’m going to kick her ass for this.”

 

“Because that worked so well last time.”

 

“Dammit Laf!”

 

Unknown to them, Carmilla was no longer within even her hearing range of the group. The vampire had taken off partway through the quiet argument between Danny and LaFontaine, having no interest in hearing the insults and insinuations being thrown around behind her back. Danny was even angrier now, since she couldn’t find the vampire to yell at.  Laura was on Perry’s hip, asking about what happens inside every building in view.  Laf chose to leave Danny to stew and went over to join Perry.

 

The four of them stayed outside on the lawn for another hour and a half before Perry stated that it was time for dinner.  It was decided, by Perry, that everyone would go back to her room to eat; no one even bothered to argue the idea.  Laura was running circles around the group, with the energy that only a small child can exude, all the way there.  Perry was still fussing over the little girl’s safety and the fact that she was now running through the halls, but LaFontaine was able to keep her calm enough while Danny just tiredly smiled at the bundle of energy racing passed her legs. 

 

Once they all got to Perry’s place, they were able to corral Laura into a chair and get her to eat. She dug into the food as if she hadn’t eaten in days, making an absolute mess while she was at it. The three adults in the room were able to eat fairly quickly and actually sit back and relax as they watched Laura shovel food into her mouth like none of them had ever seen her do before, unless they considered how she chose to eat her cookies.

 

After the meal, Laura seemed to be sated and completely out of energy.  Danny noticed the girl’s drooping eyelids and quickly grabbed her to return to her room.  She was only allowed to leave once she promised Perry that she would make sure to wash the clothes that Laura had thrown food all over in her ravenous style of eating. Danny picked Laura up and by the time they had gotten to the door of Laura’s room the kid was fading into sleep.

 

All signs of that disappeared the moment Danny was able to get the door open.  The head on her shoulder shot up when they crossed the threshold. “Carm!”

 

Laura’s shout for the vampire was followed by a returned smile and a much quieter response, “Hey there, little one.”

 

Danny stood still in the doorway, only moving to place Laura on the ground so that she could run over to Carmilla.  Carmilla crouched down and grabbed the running child and swung her onto her hip, “Aren’t you a mess?”

 

Laura looked down and seemed to notice the leftover food on the front of her shirt for the first time. “Whoops.”

 

Carmilla shook her head, “Yeah, whoops is right.  Let’s get you changed.”

 

Danny had moved into the room, shutting the door behind her, and was now sitting on Carmilla’s bed. She watched as Carmilla helped Laura get changed and then tucked the little girl in.  Laura reached her arms up toward Carmilla and pulled her into a hug.  “Night-night, Carm.”

 

“Good night Cupcake.”

 

“Danny!”

 

Danny stood up and walked over to the other bed at the request, “What munchkin?”

 

“Hug.”

 

Red hair encircled Laura as Danny leaned over and their arms wrapped around each other. Laura smiled up at Danny as they separated, “Good night.”

 

“Good night, Laura.”

 

Laura leaned back into her pillow as Danny turned back to the room.  Carmilla was at the refrigerator, filling a travel coffee cup with blood. “Where are you going?”

 

A dark eyebrow rose at Danny’s tone, “Out.”

 

“Don’t you think we need to talk about something before you do that?”

 

“Not particularly.”

 

“Maybe like the stunt you pulled earlier?”

 

“Nope. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ll see you later, Creampuff.” Carmilla leaned around Danny to look at Laura before saying this, then looked back to Danny before heading out the door, “Bye Cutie.”

 

The door shut behind the vampire and Danny reached out as if she was stretching to choke Carmilla. She let out a grunt, “She’s so infuriating.”

 

There was a giggle behind her, “She called you cute.”

 

Danny spun on her heels, “What?”

 

The words came out harsher than she intended but Laura laughed and nodded at her.  Danny looked back and forth between Laura and the door as she went over the last few minutes in her head.  She shook her head before pointing at herself, “Wait? ‘Bye Cutie?’  Was she talking to me?”

 

Laura just laughed and nodded again, hiding her smile behind her hands as Danny stared on, wide-eyed.


End file.
